Container and blade-handling device



July 31, 1951 M. J. SHNITZLER, 2,562,513

CONTAINER AND BLADE-HANDLING DEVICE Filed Sept. 4, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 y 1951 M. J. SHNITZLER 2,562,513

CONTAINER AND BLADE-HANDLING DEVICE Filed Sept. 4, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 July 31,1951 M. J. SHNITZLER 2,562,513

CONTAINER AND BLADE-HANDLING DEVICE Filed Sept. 4, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 -1 a! 4a- 1']. a

Patented July 31, 1951 2,562,513 CONTAINER AND BLADE-HANDLING DEVICE Meyer J. Shnitzler, Brookli ne, Mass.,-assignor' to Gillette Safety Razor'Company, Boston,-Mass'., a, corporation of Delaware Application September 4, 1945,Serial No. 614,136

This invention consists in a new and improved container or blade handling device primarily intended for use in connection with safety razor blades but also useful in handling any thin fineedged blades.

In one aspect, the invention comprises a container having a magazine compartment, a connected receiving compartment, and a feed slide movable between the two compartments andhaving means on one surface for advancing a blade from a blade stack in the magazine and means on its other face for retracting a used blade from a safety razor into the receiving compartment. To this end an important feature of the invention comprises a feed slide movable in operative relation to a stack of blades in the magazine and equipped on its upper face with spaced pairs of blade-pushing fingers for separating a single blade from the stack and carrying it bodily forward into position upon the blade seat of theat a time from the stack and ejecting it from a magazine without danger of jamming. The separating process of my invention is not dependent upon the thickness of the blades. to be handled but, on the other hand, solves the problem of feeding double edge blades by providing pockets or recesses in the end of the blade stack into which the blade-feeding fingers readily find their way. When once entered in these pockets, the blade-feeding fingers cannot fail to engage the selected blade and only the selected blade. The desired results are achieved by providing an end notch or a pair of end notches which are located out of longitudinal alignment in the opposite ends of each blade, and then assembling the blades in alternate end-for-gend relation so that the notch or notches of one blade are located oppositeto the face of the next oyerlying or underlying blade. In this way, a pocket or Dockets are formed at the end of each blade defined by the edges of the notch or notches and by a ceiling or floor provided by the face of the next adjacent. blade. The feeding device is correspondingly provided with adjacent pairs of feeding fingers of the proper dimensions to fit readily into the pockets thus provided. As herein shown, one fingeris so located as to entera pocket Claims. (Cl. 30- 40) 2 in each blade and the other finger to engagefrictionally the face 'of the blade. Infeeding'the next blade in the series, the finger whichhas previously entered the pocket now engages the face of the blade and the .finger which previously engaged the face of the blade now enters the pocket of the second blade. It will be apparent, therefore, that the operativefeeding finger or fingers in each case'operate to gauge their feeding position directly from the flat face of the blade to be fed and then to make feeding engagement with theindividual blade by entering a pocket provided for that purpose.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective and on an en- '20 larged scale of the razor and container" in operative relation;

Fig. 2 is a view in perspective of the razor head; Fig. 3 is a similar view of'the razor head seen from beneath;

tion of the container;

Fig. 4 is a view in perspective of thefparts of the razor and a blade in exploded relation;

Fig. 5 is a view. of the razor in longitudinal section showing a blade clamped in shaving position;

Fig. 6 is a view in perspective of the razor head and container as seenfrom beneath and in the positions they occupy when about to be brought into operative relation;

Fig. 7 is a view in perspectiveof the lower por- Fig. 8 is a view in perspective of the'co'mplete container showing a blade partially ejected from themagazine; 1

Fig. 9 is a view in perspective of theIp'artS of the upper portion of the containerand a stack of blades shown'in exploded relation;

FigtlO is a fragmentary view showing the manner in which a blade is engaged for delivery by the feed slide of the magazine;

Fig. 11 is a view of the razor head zine in'longitudinal section; and y v Fig. '12 is a view of the container. in crosssection. I a f I I {The safety razor which has been selected. to illustrate the present inventioncomprises a handlehaving a ferrule I0 and'a'barrel ll, The ferrule I0 is firmly secured at its upper end to the guard or blade-supporting member 12 and for-this purpose is shouldered, threaded and screwed into a threaded hole 13 disposed symmetrically in the guard. The upper or blade-supporting face of the guard, as shown in Fig. 4, is generally convex in transverse contour, having a blade seat bounded by fulcrum shoulders over 5 which the blade is flexed when clamped in shaving position. Adjacent to one end of the blade seat projects a longitudinal rib. IL-tapering. in both direhtion's and serving in the assembled razor to locate the blade. At its forward end, the guard I2 is provided with an underlying plate I6 which;

extends across beneath the guard f rom. sid e..tp side and defines a wide shallow-passage?The-- plate I6 is slotted at its inner edge to present;

a spring tongue or detent l1 having; an upwardly 415 extending lip centrally disposed at its free end,-:;

all as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. .At its. other end the guard is provided witha longitudinal slot l5 which supplies clearance for a rib on thefcapeto be referred to presently. The rear end of the guard is recessed and.. its longitudinal edges are curved utwardiyi'and downwardly'lto erveasxnegaara elemeiitsiof the combination.

"cap member I 8lco operates with the. guard member :12. It slightly; narrower ft'hangthe [guard member .andit's' lower .or 'bladeeerigag'ili ra'ee is trialn's'yersely.jconcavelandextends .on both vs .fi e have, id l 'ei-i l' r m ho ld s 0 the uard member; at is provided centrally with threaded presentlylfdescribed; and has .at its. rear end spaced 'dowfnwardlyi-migtending arms .20 which are connetted at their rloweriendsrto andsupportan inwardlwexteriding connecting-plate i 2] .This

platehasla circularjopez'iingr 22 locatedeindine withhthethreadedlvholei l9 andofjsuch size/as to I receivewithr-clearancerthe ferrule i 0 ofr the razo'ilhaz'idle. The .cap .is also provided: near ,its rear end with .a-downwardly..projecting rib 23 wliichflas shdwn in Fig. 5, is received the..sloti.40

ISof th'e'guard when the cap andguard are drawn together-..-. The lower face or the-rib 2*3"is inclined downwardly and outwardlyor toQthe kitesenn i1 -iF d e q cap is provided with a ion imdiriaisiot 2 4.-which.. 5

iurnishes .clea ranc fo r theribJQ ofl the guard memberunder similarcircu'mstancesn .wmun' he uburr barrel d f theihandleis lo cated a clanipinglsl lv dle 15 threadediatits'. upper end for engagement with the'threaded 11018149 sr 1 1seenrmdntoflded ett owe e d wit lsn rl a'ii tb w mayb i y mammdated: 1 0. ing as nterposed betw th bottom of the "guard 12 andv the upper surface of the ggnnecting plateZl. Thistendsat allftirnes tourge'the'cap and guard yieldin'glytoiward each with' thinflexible double-edged blades .of the geniegal type shown'in Eigs. 4 an d 9.. Each blade 21 sh drpened Lat its opposite. longitudinal? Tedges and "Is provided witha longitudinaLmedial slot 2 8 whichha s a central cincularaenlarge nent of sumcient diameter to, permit freelpassa'gefof the clamping spindle 2 51' It'is notched ineach corner to present elongated unsharpened tongues 29 and 3041. 9 th se ton ue r c e o r vide in eaclipjpair. of diilefrently. spaced recesses The notches'tl' inthe tongue .30 are spaced at apre-i determined distancenfrom each other and: from the center line of the blade and the notches 32 tii-i i d llt e e e e ieerace m Z5 each other and from the center line of the blade. In the stack the blades are arranged alternately end-for-end, as shown in Fig. 9, with the result that each pair of notches present in conjunction with the adjacent blade a pair of pockets in the end of the blade stack. In each case the bottom of the next overlying blade provides a ceiling for thepocket. Thus thenotche's makejour vertical rows in the blade stack; or two pairs of vertical rows, and the notches are spaced at different distances in alternate blades thereby being staggered in.adjacent. blades. These blades may be supplied'toth-erazorabova described by hand but preferablyautomatically from the magazine constituting-a part ofthe blade container which will "now-b*e des'cribed The bladescontainer comprises two connected compartments in the illustrated device, the lower .be'in'gareceiver for used blades and the upper being a magazine designed to contain a stack of Qnew blades with means for-feeding them one by oneg to the razor; Asa part ofthe samii IQDeration, the usedablade is withdrawn from the razor and dep ed i he re ei e The receiver, as best shown in Big. J, is con- .structed of sheet. netal and comprises a bottom gd sidewalls 3 5, a rearzwa-ll-JB and a irontiwall flufl i h i ifid fi l i it hei ht-s0 as to leave :a b fi fii ii q i l s t be wee -it and the. feed slide a()jEthe. magazine. The rear-wall of theri'eceiver -.is=pr v de with a pair-of llpsliandingiforwardb or inwardly directed 2hooks 38'1and1upmi the; side walls; 15,- adjacentzto -.th e;thook,s. are rformefdzupstanding z-lugsjia. :To 'the; front: wall 35 zof lthe r.e

-.ce iver-;i secured-gm angleplate providingza tor- ,wardly e en n sh f .0- f herronti- Walls provided-at eachend witha-fingerAl whichextends iorwardly and parallel'zto 1the, shelf .40. 1 A crossewire clegrtends between-the sidesfifi 91 the .receiverirspmewh tto therear;oiimid-positiom:

h pperr ori-m e ine -c mpa tment in :the

V illus ra e fle i ae mpr s -a top 4 .spaced mttomliianges v 44,:and side WfillSgii-L The trout end of the. Inagazineiis closedrby awallfii arran ed to leave a blade-exit opening beneath it; and'lihe reareendpf .themagazine, is :closedpyla detachable wall 41. Atits fror i tend' the; magfl.. ne.-1S .prvpv d :w a a r: wa d y xtendin arms .4 8 and .these support a forwardly extending .idil t p atefiahavi s a ra s erseslotinaits 111L- dejr-surface.just within its. outerend. Thepiloi: plate is 'pa edb -the b t ftherma azine a d has th ee un i n el athe first place; i serves as a connecting means'atone: endbetween jthelmagazineand the blade receiver; SiIlCBrjit is h p d-to fit. betw en the he f :en the rms 5 [which project from the irontrxwall of ;the :rese er-"11mm eQnd p e r erve t ocatetne combined (magazine rand; receiver in. operative o -,;PO i io;i withrspect to t e razorrhead-by enterne t eshallpw pa sag o -m d between'the der plate 16 and the. guardmember l2 ofith'e-razor. llllhenv the. pilot plate "is fully inserted its transyerseslotinis (see. Fig.';6) broughti'into regis trationwfih the lip ofithersprington ue Il-of the. plate It. 1 By. this connection, rth'ermagazine and receiver arev alignedpmperlv-withvth-e razor head'and detachably locked; a ainst. separation, the locking action being "the thirdtfhnction-oftlie .iq lqt le T Within: the magazine is provided'ra removable overhead plate 5| from the lower surface 'otwhich projects a longitudinal blade-locating rib" 52.

Nextfbelow this plate is 10c'ated'.=a' downwardlywith clearance. Beneath the spring 53 is a presser plate 54 provided with a longitudinal slot 55 to clear therib 52 and provided in one end with notches56 defining a Wide intermediate tongue, and with notches in the other end also defining an intermediate tongue. Finally below the pressure plate 54 is located the blade stack.

The feed slide, as best shown in Fig. 9, comprises a thin, elongated blade 5% provided in its forward end with a medial slot El and having at its rear end upstanding side flanges 62 which embrace the side walls of the magazine and are provided at both ends with wings to facilitate manipulation. The forks of the feed slide are reduced in width at their forwardend and provided-with short upstanding lugs 53, and with downwardly and rearwardly directed teeth 64. To the upper portion of the feed slide is secured a sheet metal plate 65, having forwardlyextending spring fingers 65 arranged in pairs at either edge of the plate and bearing yielding against the lower face of the innermost blade in the stack.

Assuming that a used blade is clamped in the razor asshown in Fig. 5, and that it is now desired to replace this by a fresh blade; the clamping spindle 25 will first be retracted, thus permitting the blade 21 to assume a substantially flat condition in the razor. The pilot plate 49 of the magazine is now inserted in the recess provided for that purpose beneath the guard member I2 and when this operative relation has been established the lip of the spring finger I! yieldingly locks the two elements together. The feed slide is now advanced, passing over the used blade on the blade seat of the razor without otherwise disturbing it. In this operation, a fresh blade is picked ofi the bottom of the blade stack in the magazine by the pair of spring fingers 65 which happens to register with the notches 3| or 32, according to which end of the lowermost blade is in advance. For xample, as shown in Fig. 10, the outermost fingers slide on the lower face of the blade while the innermost fingers enter the pockets formed by the notches 3|. The fresh blade is carried into the razor head upon the feed slide by the fingers that enter and find the bottoms or inner edges of the notches with which they happen to register and with its forward end shoulders engaged between the upstanding lugs 63 which thus prevent it from becoming misplaced or twisted during the feeding operation. The solid end of the advancing blade rides up and over the tapering surface of the rib I l and is finally arrested in shaving position by engaging the arms of the cap I8. This isthe position of the various parts illustrated in Fig. 11 of the drawing. Now when the feed slide is retracted toward the right the rearwardly directed teeth 64 at its outer end engage the shoulders of the used blade beneath it and draw the blade rearwardly into the blade-receiving slot of the container. When the rear end of the blade reaches the cross-wire 42 the blade is deflected beneath the Wire and when the feed slide has fully returned to its initial position the blade joins those which have been collected in the bottom of the receiver while the feed slide forms a partition between the two compartments. Meanwhile, the sharp fresh blade is held against retraction by the shoulder of the rib 23 of the cap and is therefore left behind by the feed slide. In the forward and rearward movement of the feed slide, the slot 6| provides clearance so that the forks of the slide may pass freely on both sidesof the rib i4 and the rib 23[ When the feed slide has been fully retracted, the container may be forcibly separated from the razor, the detent I! being sprung'out of the slot 50 in the pilot plate. Finally, the spindle 25 is pushed upwardly and screwed into the threaded hole iii of the cap; the blade is thus clamped in position and the razor ready for shaving,

Having thus disclosed my invention and described in detail an illustrative embodiment thereof, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A combined. magazine I and receiver for safety razorblades', comprising adjacent magazine and receiving compartments, and a feed slidcmovablebetween the two compartments and having at its inner endblade-pushing fingers and at its outerend blade-retractingteeth. 2.,A combinedblade magazine and receiver for safetyrazor. blades,v comprising a magazine enclosure'having .a bottom formed by spaced inturned flanges, a feed slidemovable in, the space between said flanges and .having projecting blade-engaging fingers on itsfupper face, a bladereceivingenclosure located beneath the magazine enclosure and having its top closed by the said feed slide, and blade-engaging projections on the lower face of the slide.

8. A blade receiver comprising walls forming an enclosure with a blade receiving slot therein, a feed slide movable adjacent to said slot and having means for engaging a blade outside said enclosure and retracting it into said enclosure, and means within the enclosure for deflecting a blade away from the feed slide.

4. A blade magazine comprising walls forming an enclosure with a blade-exit slot in one end thereof, and a feed slide movable in the enclosure and including in its structure an elongated plate having a medial slot opening through its outer end whereby the plate may straddle the blade receiving rib of a razor, blade-engaging projections at its outer end for retracting a used blade from the razor, and blade-pushing fingers at its inner end disposed out of line with said medial slot.

5. A combined magazine and receiver for safety razor blades, comprising a magazine compartment having a blade-exit slot in one end, an underlying blade-receiving compartment having a blade-receiving slot in its corresponding end, and a feed slide movable between thetwo compartments and having blade-pushing and bladeretracting means upon its opposite faces respectively.

6. A blade containing and dispensing device including a housing having positioning means engageable with the head of a safety razor for operatively positioning said housing with respect to the razor head, said housing including a compartment for used blades, a magazine compartment holding a supply of new blades, and a reciprocable blade-feedingmember having a bladeengaging portion arranged in one stroke of the member to engage and withdraw a used blade from the razor head and move it into said usedblade compartment, and another blade-engaging portion arranged in the opposite stroke of the member to engage and feed a new blade from the magazine compartment into the said razor head.

7. A combined blade magazine and receiver for safety razor blades, comprising walls forming a rectangular enclosure providing upper and lower compartments, and a feed slide movable in a path et e -th tw comp t n and-h vine-b de en a in fin ers .0 n ace a d d fi 1. 5 pr e ion o t e othe w th sai s i serving in one position as a partitionbetween the two compartments.

8. A combined blade magazine and receiver for safety razor blades, havingwalls formingan elongated enclosure comprising uppernand lower compartments, a stack of blades-in one compartment spring pressed inwardly therein, and a -feedlslide mounted to reciprocate in a path betweenthe two compartments and having oppositely -dire oted blade-engaging elements upon its opposite faces for moving blades respectively intoand out of the compartments.

9. A container forrsafetyrragor blades, including a generally rectangular casing having a blade passage opening and a reciprocable blade-sliding member having a substantially flat undersurface adapted snugly to overlie the body of a blade, said blade-sliding member being longer than said blade and being forked atone end to provide a pair of spaced arms the tips of which extend beyond the said blade, the tip regions of saidarms having downwardly extending projections abuttable against anledge of said bladed ring return portion abuttable against an end edge of a blade for pushing said blade out from the containeron its forward stroke, and provided at its otheropen end with a pair of blade-retracting projections .engageable with the end edge of a blade for pushing that blade into said container in its return movement.

MEYER J. SHNITZLER.

REFERENGES CITED,

The following references are of record inthe file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date v 1,999,129 Minnelli Apr. 23 1935 2,436,026 Steinbach Feb. 17, 1948 

